How do you separate rotoscoping from using reference in an animation? Meaning, how do you make it your own work as opposed to a recreation of someone else's when using video reference? I can check Explainer Video on internet but I didn't find the right solution.Any shared experience on a similar matter or additional things I could do would be appreciated.I keep being told to use video reference in my animations, but I'm not really sure how much I should really take advantage of my reference footage. Even if I shoot it myself, I still feel like I'm cheating if I go frame by frame through the video and copy it pose by pose. Is anyone able to offer advice for this issue?

If you are referencing every single frame, trying to get every part matching, but not tracing, it's sort of a grey area.

If I'm using a reference I would probably reference my key poses, or watch the movement to get an idea of timing or arcs.
Using reference is not cheating, especially if you film it yourself - it's just going to give you a certain feel. If you copy everything exactly you won't get much cartoonyness out of it. Ideally you want your work to be even cooler than the footage. Start with the big keys then see if you can make them better. As you're doing your break down, watch through to see if there are particular movements you like.
I don't think there's a right way to go about it. Just experiment and see what feels right to you. Don't feel married to the reference.